1)  Inspect your credit report and get it in the best shape possible.  In today's tight money world it behooves you to take the time necessary to carefully scrutinize your credit report and credit score to be prepared to explain to creditors any dings you can't fix.

2)  Shop around for a mortgage from a variety of lenders to determine what's available.  Not all lenders have the same money or the same programs.  It's like buying a new car. You'll probably go to more than one dealership, right?   Shop one lender against the next.

3)  Obtain all loan cost information, not just the monthly mortgage payment and annual percentage rate (APR). Check the cost of points (in dollar amounts, not just number of points), broker fees, origination fees, underwriting fees, administrative costs, mortgage insurance, yield spread premiums, commissions. You need these numbers to make a fair comparison.

4)  Get an explanation for every fee you don't understand.  You can never ask too many questions!

5)  Know what down payment you'll need, the term of the loan, whether the loan is a fixed rate mortgage (FRM) or an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and the specific terms of each. For ARMs, ask for the beginning rate, when and how often adjustments occur, how much adjustments could cost, and the ARM's ceiling rate.

6)  Be aggressive. Prepare to negotiate with the information you've gathered. The more information you have about each loan the move negotiating leverage you'll have. A pristine credit record can also give you an edge.  Don't be afraid to ask the lender to waive or reduce one or more of its fees or to agree to a lower rate or fewer points. Make sure the lender isn't just lowering one fee to raise another or lowering the rate to raise points. There's also no harm in asking lenders if they can give better terms than the original ones they quoted to you, especially if you've found better terms elsewhere.

7)  Once you are satisfied with the terms you have negotiated, consider a written lock-in from the lender or broker. The lock-in should include the rate that you have agreed upon, the period the lock-in lasts, the number of points to be paid and a lock on as many other costs and terms as possible.

8)  Also seek a written loan commitment that guarantees you the terms and costs you've locked. A loan commitment puts you ahead of the pack in the eyes of the home seller who wants to sell quickly

You may have noticed that I did not use the term 'mortgage broker'.  That's because, over the 8 plus years I've been doing this, I have not had one positive experience when clients have used mortgage brokers.  I'm not saying there aren't any good ones out there,  I just haven't run across them!